Greenroom

The Tale of Choe Cheok

Jo Wi-han, 1621 · Original title: 최척전

In Namwon during the Imjin War, Choe Cheok, a poor young man sent to study with an old family friend, finds a poem slipped to him through a window by Ok-yeong, a refugee girl from Seoul staying in his teacher's house. She chooses him over richer suitors, but the war that has already driven her from home is far from over.

Ordinary people's lives torn apart by warA woman who chooses her own husband and acts for herselfKindness across the borders of nationsSteadfast love and family bonds

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Public domain: the author died in 1649 and the work was published in 1621, so its copyright has ended in Korea, the US and the EU. Everything written here is our own; no translation is copied.

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Characters

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  • 최척 Choe Cheok A generous young man of Namwon, better with a bow than a book, who has just started studying in earnest. Main character Appears in part 1
  • 옥영 Ok-yeong A clever girl from Seoul who fled the war and now listens secretly at the study window. Main character Appears in part 1
  • 춘생 Chunsaeng Ok-yeong's loyal maid, who carries messages between the young couple. Appears in part 1
  • 최숙 Choe Suk Choe Cheok's father, a poor widower who wants his son to study instead of hunting. Appears in part 1
  • 심씨 Madam Sim Ok-yeong's widowed mother, a refugee who wants a rich husband for her only daughter. Appears in part 1
  • 정 상사 Scholar Jeong A learned Namwon scholar who teaches Choe Cheok and shelters Ok-yeong's family. Appears in part 1
  • 몽석 Mongseok First appears in part 2. Read up to part 1 to meet them without spoilers.
  • 돈우 Donu First appears in part 2. Read up to part 1 to meet them without spoilers.
  • 여유문 Yu Yu-mun First appears in part 2. Read up to part 1 to meet them without spoilers.
  • 송우 Song U First appears in part 3. Read up to part 2 to meet them without spoilers.
  • 몽선 Mongseon First appears in part 3. Read up to part 2 to meet them without spoilers.
  • 홍도 Hongdo First appears in part 3. Read up to part 2 to meet them without spoilers.
  • 진위경 Jin Wi-gyeong First appears in part 4. Read up to part 3 to meet them without spoilers.

Part by part

Part 1

처음 ~ 최척과 옥영이 혼인하기까지

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Part 2

몽석이 태어나는 데서 ~ 최척이 명나라로 건너가기까지

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Part 3

최척이 중국을 떠도는 데서 ~ 몽선이 홍도와 혼인하기까지

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Part 4

최척이 다시 전쟁터로 나가는 데서 ~ 최척이 남원으로 돌아오기까지

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Part 5

옥영이 조선으로 떠날 결심을 하는 데서 ~ 끝

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